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What Is RSS?

As a quick refresher, RSS is a way to aggregate multiple websites, and their articles, all in one place by using an RSS reader. RSS cuts down on the time it would take to visit multiple websites throughout the day. This is a great way to consume internet content in an efficient way.

At the end of last week’s episode I mentioned that although RSS has been around for over a decade, that there are some major changes going on due to the fact that Google Reader is shutting down.

Why is this such a big deal, you ask?

Why Is Google Reader Such a Game-Changer?

Well, aside from the fact that Google Reader is a pretty decent RSS reader, its true value is that it syncs with almost every RSS program on the market. You might have an RSS reader on your phone, tablet, and laptop, all of which might be running a different app or program to display your RSS feeds. Google Reader acts as a virtual bookmark which saves which feeds you’ve read and haven’t read across all of your devices.

Google Reader allows you to read your content on your desktop then pick up right where you left off on your phone or tablet. Without it, you would still be able to view RSS content on an app or program, but all of your different ways of consuming your articles wouldn’t be synced up. This could be a huge headache if you’re like me and don’t realize you’ve read a feed until you’re halfway done with it!

Because Google Reader was so good at doing this, there weren’t very many competitors in the field. The announcement that Google Reader will shut down was like chopping down a huge tree in the middle of the forest. All of a sudden, many other little trees (aka, the other RSS readers) had a huge opportunity to become the next big player in the forest.

What Is the Next Best RSS Reader?

With the expiration date of Google Reader fast approaching, there has been one standout among the other RSS Readers trying to replace Google Reader. It’s called Feedly.

Feedly lets you sync your existing Google Reader to your Feedly account. It will grab all of your feeds and transfer them over to their servers. It wasn’t until this last week that they also began supporting syncing across multiple devices. They now support web browsers, Android, IOS, Blackberry, and Windows phones.

If you still haven’t migrated your feeds over from Google Reader, I highly recommend heading over to Feedly. They have a simple one-click transfer that will move all of your feeds in no time at all.

If you’re going to do this, be sure to write down the last feed you’ve read for every site you subscribed too. This is especially important if you have a lot of feeds because during the transfer Feedly may mark all your articles as unread.

This isn’t the end of the world but it might take you a little bit to straighten everything out.

Another quick tip is that if you are used to saving articles in your RSS reader by “starring” them, Feedly uses “Save for later” to accomplish the same task.

With that, here are you 3 Quick and Dirty Tips for moving your RSS feeds off Google and onto another reader:

Google Reader is set to expire on July 1, 2013 so be prepared for when they flip the switch!

Feedly is the rising star of the RSS market and is supported on every major mobile operating system. Plus, it has a web interface if you’re using a desktop or laptop.

To migrate your feeds over to Feedly simply visit their website and sign in using your Google account and Feedly will take care of the rest.

If you have another favorite RSS reader or are coping with the loss of Google Reader in a different way, I’d love to hear about it. Post your thoughts in Comments or on the Tech Talker Facebook page!